Zahra Billoo sheds light on misconceptions about Muslims

The executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Zahra Billoo, explained her faith and culture in "Bans, Borders and Bigotry: Not My America" at a packed Chao Auditorium March 30.

Billoo said the political and social climate has been skewed against Muslim Americans before 9/11, but discrimination and hate has grown over the last few years. A YouGov poll from 2015 found that 68 percent of Americans had never personally met a Muslim and 55 percent had a somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable opinion on the Islamic religion.

"The attacks on President Obama were about him being black, and a secret Muslim," she said.